Baking Evolution

I was thinking recently about my baking and how it's evolved. I learned to cook at the feet of my grandmothers, my dad, and my mom. I would watch and soak it in. They would rarely use cookbooks or measuring gadgets. When they did use cookbooks these books would be ragged and worn from extensive use. I do miss seeing that. My cookbooks are pristine for the most part except the ones passed down. You see my cookbooks are in a cabinet and rarely if ever used. Is it because I know all the recipes by heart?? No. It's because I use the internet for just about every recipe. I have a notebook. One of those little black and white composition books that has some written recipes in it and a whole stack of paper recipes printed off the computer. Although my mother-in-law did leave me a gem. She left me this Tennessee cookbook that as soon as you put it down it opens to a carrot cake recipe. This carrot cake recipe is the best I've ever had! I like to add a twist to the recipes I use to make them somewhat of my own, but some you just can't mess with. My only regret was not paying enough attention when bread was being made. I can't seem to get it right. The past few weeks I've been making cupcakes for various reasons and wanted to share a couple of pictures of the ones I have done. Both recipes I found online but added my own touch to them. This first one is a dark chocolate cupcake with a semi-sweet chocolate ganache and drizzled with a caramel sauce.
This last one is a mexican hot chocolate cupcake with a spicy whipped cream frosting *which had a hard time even getting on the cupcake due to consumption* and a surprise dulce de leche center!!

From Delicious to Decorating

My friend and co-worker celebrated her birthday on Friday, Feb. 12th but she didn't tell us it was her birthday. She is a dark chocolate lover and I had in mind to make her a cake, but then I came across this recipe!! Dark Chocolate Cupcake with a White Chocolate Ganache topped with Cinnamon Sugar Candied Bacon!! Long name I know but oh my gosh oh so tasty!! I got them from another blogger that was connected to the Pioneer Woman's website. My cousins and some friends talk of this Pioneer Woman all the time and I had never checked it out. I wish I would have before Valentine's as she was giving away this awesome Kitchen Aide!! I could completely design a kitchen around this mixer. Click the link and check it out! I am trying to find my design style so I can get started. I want to call it eccentric/quirky and do it up good with a bunch of mismatched plates, cups, curtains, you get the idea! Oh and quotes like "If you're afraid of butter, just use cream." Julia Child or "Things taste better in small houses." Queen Victoria or "You know it’s a good recipe if it starts with a stick of butter." Paula Dean or maybe "Life itself is the proper binge." Julia Child. I don't know how I went from blogging about the delicious cupcakes from earlier in the week to what I want my design style to be but it went there. Try those cupcakes out or give me a call sometime and I'll make them for you! Oh and the picture above is one of the ones I took of the cupcakes I made. It's not great but for being from a cell phone I thought it was very good. Oh and any of those three recipes are good on their own too! The bacon especially!!

All figured out??? I think not!!

Ok, so this post has changed titles several times and I was looking for some profound wisdom and words to pass on as I meditate on a verse I came across in my Bible study. Well it hit me today and it's of the simplest meanings and clarity. I have 1 Corinthians 13 marked with a book mark and read the love verses as I call them often. However, I think I was stopping before this verse.

1 Corinthians 13:12

"Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely."

Three things, I don't have it all figured out nor will I ever, and that is OK! One day I will know it all, but then it won't even matter! And thirdly God knows it now and He knows me completely!

Why do I have to have it figured out, when the one who holds my heart and knows the number of hairs on my head at any given moment already knows it? I don't need to know it all if I'm fully trusting in Him.

Ah, I will live blissfully in the reflection of the cloudy mirror with my God guiding me this year.

Resolutions!?

I have realized that every year I make resolutions for me and without a thought as to His plan or His resolutions for me. This is a new year and a new beginning in Him! Maybe this year my resolution should just simply be: Lord make me the person You want me to be from the inside out! I open every door to You, clean out my house! Okay, so there is nothing simple about that. I realize that God may have to tear down some things to rebuild them. It might be hard at times but through Him I can prevail. "Empty me of me, so I can be more like You!" Chris Sligh.

Lots of Updates

Well it has been a long time since I blogged and I couldn't imagine why! Our little guy is now almost 14 months! I am amazed out how fast they grow and the new things he learns on a daily basis! He is almost freely walking. I say this because he would prefer to have his hand resting on something as opposed to letting fully go. As I type that I realize I am that way with my faith right now. I need to physically hold on to something and am being tentative to let go and let God. Anyway I am working on that!
Things have changed so very much with the addition of our little/big guy! At his last appointment he was 25 lbs and 30+ inches tall. We swear he has a growth spurt every week. He fills our lives with laughter and joy! He loves to cuddle! He is saying words here and there as well as making a few animal sounds. I work now as a teachers assistant at a private school. I work with the 2's and 3's with a couple 4's in there. I also cook and clean for the school! I love it! McKinley goes to a sitter while I am there from 8ish-3ish. I think about him constantly and have a picture of him and Dwayne up at school on our family wall! He loves the sitter! They are a couple from our church who's daughter is the same age as me. They love him so very much! They are a true blessing in many ways!! He is a big flirt!! I'm not sure where he gets that from, but oh it works!! He can be fussy and cranky but a cute teenage girl walks by and the smile comes out and the eyes start batting. It's quite comical to watch! He loves music and watching his Uncle Chad play drums. He just might be a drummer and that is fine with his dad and I. He loves being read books and is working on puzzles. Oh my can I talk about him any more? LOL! of course I could but that is enough for now. We hope to get him to TN and OK this Summer for some much needed family time! Having extended family here and people like family is great but nothing can replace blood family, flaws and all! I hope to start blogging more this year, but alas depends on the little guy!

5 months!!!!

McKinley is 5 months old!! I'd say it seems like yesterday he was teeny tiny and we were just bringing him home, but in truth it feels like a long time ago. I look back at pictures even now and can't believe when he was that small. He's just a big boy! At his 4 month check up we were told he was 17 lbs 4 ozs and 25 1/2 inches long!! Basically he's the average size of a 7/8 month old. I wouldn't trade him for anything. He makes the world such a brighter place!!

10 things I love about my 5 month old little boy:
1. He's mine!!!
2. Rocking him to sleep, and just when I think he's asleep he turns his head to look at me and just grins from ear to ear, then closes his eyes and drifts back off to sleep.
3. When he stops crying at the sound of my voice most of the time. He enjoys me singing to him to for some weird reason.
4. The michelen man thighs! The only time in one's life when rolls are adorable!!
5. His chubby cheeks, oh so kissable.
6. I love his kisses!! He wide mouth kisses my cheek and slobbers away!!
7. I love the loud crying noises he makes in his crib, when he's flipped over from his tummy to his back, then smiles really big when he see's you come in. He's got the grin like I fooled you into coming and getting me!!
8. I love waking up hearing him cooing and talking with his daddy in the monitor!!
9. I love when he squeezes my neck so tight in a hug.
10. I love listening to him coo and talk.

He is trying food now. He does great with rice cereal. So far he loves applesauce, carrots and green beans too!! He is a hot natured baby much like his dad. We have found if it's warm somewhere and he's a bit cranky if we just take his pants off and leave him in a onesie, he loves it. We get some of his biggest smiles when he's getting undressed or bathing. Speaking of baths, he loves them. We moved him from a baby tub to just laying in the tub which he likes much better. He is wearing some 3-6 month items but we have found he is too long for others. He really wears anything from 3-6 months to 12 months. Actually the 12 month are onesies and they are big on him but comfy!! He rolls over from back to tummy and tummy to back. Really, he flips from his tummy to his back most of the time! He loves soft cloth type toys at the moment. We believe he is teething and might have a tooth that is just breaking through. We feel a little prick every now and again when he's chewing on our fingers. He gave up his pacifier for his fingers and we catch him sucking on his thumb occasionally. He mostly chews on them. We found out from his Aunt Bec that he really likes watching the Little Einstein dvds. We keep saying we're going to pick some up for him but just haven't gotten around to it. He has found his laugh. Daddy gets him to laugh pretty easily, I have to work at it a bit. His laugh is definitely in the developmental stages!

I could go on and on about him. He is the light of my day and takes my breath away all the time. God has truly blessed me!!

He is a true blessing in every way!!

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

I was given an assignment by my cousin Dawn *It Just Dawned on Me* on happiness. She asked that I list 10 things that make me happy and tell why, so I'm going to give this a try. In no specific order:

1. My husband Dwayne! He is everything I dreamed and prayed for in a husband, but he's also so much more. He makes me think and he makes me laugh!! I feel the safest when I am with him. I love when he wraps his arms around me in a bear hug!! He makes me want to do better, to be a better person. He is strong, handsome, loving and I am so very thankful he is MINE!!!

2. My little guy, McKinley!! Oh how we prayed and prayed for this little guy and oh what a blessing he is. He makes my heart melt! His smile stops me and everyone else in their tracks. He has me wrapped around every one of his little fingers. I cannot kiss him enough. He makes me want to be a better person. He makes me question my actions at times wondering what sort of influence that might be on him. I pray that I am doing right by him and pray for his future.

3. My friends and extended family. I wouldn't be who I am without them. I have so many of their qualities; compassion, stubbornness, strength, weaknesses, quietness, stillness, rowdy, boisterous just to name a few. They are their when I need them the most!!

4. Technology. Yes, I said it. I love technology most of the time. I text more often than talking on the phone as I hate to talk on the phone. I keep in touch through facebook, blogs, and email. I much prefer this way of communicating. I like the fact that I can look up a recipe for just about anything and have the results in seconds!! Better yet I like the fact I can look up anything and have the answer in more than one form in seconds. I like being able to tape a show on tivo and watch it without commercials or to fast forward through parts I don't want to watch.

5. Baking!! I love to cook, but mostly bake!!! I especially love sharing such baked goods with friends. I would love to open up a small little shop of some baked goods some day. That shop has changed from a cupcake shop, to a small cafe, to now being a pie shop with homemade vanilla ice cream and simple drip coffee. Something in the design of a grandma's kitchen.

6. Books. Mysteries and crime novels to be more specific. I like using my imagination to visualize the stories.

7. Watching sports with my husband and friends. I love the New York Yankees, especially their catcher Jorge Posada. I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan and like Marion Barber! I do enjoy watching Nascar and Mark Martin is my favorite driver. Yes I like others from each of these but the above are my favorites.

8. Movies. I love watching movies and can watch certain ones over and over. I'd list some of my favorites but that would take too long. I'm in awe of the constant growth *not sure that's the word* maybe evolution of special effects. Action movies are probably my favorite although I do enjoy a good chick flick now and then. Even as an adult I enjoy animated movies!!

9. Aslan, our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I know you say he's a dog but oh how he makes me happy. He is loyal, friendly and just seems to fit us perfectly. He curls up close to me when I'm holding the baby and he's become protective of our little guy. He watches people closely as they hold him to make sure they are doing it right. He barks at us if he doesn't think we're tending to McKinley fast enough.

10. My faith in God. Without God I couldn't be happy at all. I've been down that dark road time and again and when I turn around he's there with open arms welcoming me back! His compassion and mercy make me weak in the knees. He has blessed my life with so much I feel I can never thank him enough!

I have done my ten and now I'm tagging some other people here. What makes you happy?? Dwayne *Randomish Stuph*, Julie *The Clearing*, Becky *Intrigue/Passion/Rebellion*, Angie *Meanderings of a Mommy*, Mom *Wonderings and Wanderings*, Samantha *Green Eggs and Ham*, Kate *In a Shoe*, and Mara *Our Family Story*. If you're not tagged and do this please leave me a comment, I'd love to read about what makes you happy!!! Or just comment what makes you happy!!